A novel RNA aptamer-modified riboswitch as chemical sensor

In this study, a novel label- and immobilization-free RNA aptamer-modified riboswitch-based biosensor was developed by using RNA aptamer modified secondary-structural scaffolds to control the identity of the ribosomal binding sequence (RBS). In the developed sensor, the duplex RNA aptamers-modified cis-repressor sequence is introduced upstream to the RBS of the indicating gene (gfp gene), leading to formatting an RNA bubble due to the none-complementary state of the RNA aptamers in the hairpin structure of the cis-repressor sequence. Without the presence of the target molecule, the ribosome cannot identify the RBS of the indicating gene as the RBS is hidden by the introduced cis-repressor, consequently, the indicating gene in the sensor would not be expressed, demonstrating the absence of the target. On the contrary, with the presence of the target molecule, the binding of aptamer with the target would induce the enlargement of the RNA bubble, leading to the separation of the cis-repressor sequence and RBS. Hence, the indicating gene would be expressed, manifesting the existence of the target. In addition, the developed sensor can quantitatively report the target concentrations by measuring the gfp gene-encoded GFP (green fluorescent protein) concentration. The approach proposed in this study can be used to construct sensors for detecting various chemicals by introducing the corresponding aptamers, therefore, this strategy can potentially provide a new set of analytical tools in the field of analytical chemistry. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.